Devices and methods for generating a 3d imaging dataset of an object

ABSTRACT

A computerized imaging system and method for creating a 3D imaging dataset of an object are disclosed. The computerized imaging system includes an object stage mounted on a system base plate, the object stage is configured to rotate 360 degrees around its axis perpendicular to the base plate plane. The computerized imaging system includes an elongated elevation arm positioned alongside the object stage, wherein the elongated elevation arm having an image sensor, at least one lens, and a mirror mounted thereon, and wherein the optical axis of the image sensor is parallel to the elongated elevation arm elevation axis. The image sensor is used to capture a plurality of images of the object in a plurality of rotation and elevation angles of the object stage and elongated elevation arm.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/647,487 filed on May 27, 2015, which is a National Phase of PCTPatent Application No. PCT/IL2013/050990 having International FilingDate of Dec. 2, 2013, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC§ 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/732,361 filed onDec. 2, 2012. The contents of the above applications are allincorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein in theirentirety.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to 3Dimaging and, more specifically, but not exclusively, to devices andmethods for generating a three dimensional (3D) imaging dataset of anobject.

A 3D image can be reconstructed from a set of two dimensional (2D)images. It is the reverse process of obtaining 2D images from the 3Dobject.

The essence of a 2D image is a projection from a 3D object onto a 2Dplane, wherein the object depth is lost. The 3D point corresponding to aspecific image point is constrained to be on the line of sight. From asingle 2D image, it is impossible to determine which point on this linecorresponds to a 3D object point. If two or more images are available,then the position of a 3D point can be found as the intersection of twoprojection rays. This process is referred to as triangulation. The keyfor this process is the relations between multiple views which conveythe information that corresponding sets of points must contain somestructure and that this structure is related to the poses and thecalibration of the camera image sensor.

Many existing systems for constructing 3D models are built aroundspecialized hardware, such as stereo rigs, resulting in a high costdevices.

Thus, it would be highly advantageous to provide compact, cost effectivedevices and methods for generating an imaging dataset of objects thatwill allow reconstruction of fully rotatable 3D image of the objects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a computerized imaging system for creating a 3Dimaging dataset of an object. The computerized imaging system includesan object stage mounted on a system base plate where the object stage isconfigured to rotate 360 degrees around its axis perpendicular to thebase plate plane. The computerized imaging system includes an elongatedelevation arm positioned alongside the object stage, wherein theelongated elevation arm having an image sensor, at least one lens, and amirror mounted thereon, and wherein the optical axis of the image sensoris parallel to the elongated elevation arm elevation axis. The elongatedelevation arm image sensor is used to capture a plurality of images ofthe object positioned on the object stage in a plurality of rotation andelevation angles of the object stage and elongated elevation arm.

According to a further feature of an embodiment of the presentinvention, a computerized method for creating a 3D imaging dataset of anobject is provided. The computerized method includes providing acomputerized imaging system, uploading a pattern of system configurationparameters stored in a storage medium according to the object type andcontinuously aligning the object center of mass with the object stageshaft axis. The computerized method includes capturing a plurality ofimages with pre-defined points of view of the object.

According to a further feature of an embodiment of the presentinvention, continuously aligning the object center of mass with theobject stage axis and capturing the plurality of images with pre-definedpoints of view of the object further includes capturing an initial setof images of the object, calculating the object center of mass using thefirst set of images, continuously displacing the XY stage position inorder to maintain the object center of mass and the object stage shaftaxis aligned, adjusting the lens focus and aperture on the object usinglens micro-motors, rotating the object stage with a pre-programmed anglestep Δθ in order to capture a plurality of images with different pointsof view of the object, elevating the elongated elevation arm in aplurality of elevation angles with a pre-programmed elevation angle stepΔΦ after each full rotation of the object stage is completed andrepeating the rotating and the capturing the plurality of images of theobject in each the elevation angle. According to a further feature of anembodiment of the present invention, a computer program product forcreating a 3D imaging dataset of an object is provided. The computerprogram product includes a computer readable storage medium, firstprogram instructions to upload a pattern of system parameters stored ina storage medium, second program instructions to continuously align theobject center of mass with the object stage shaft axis by displacing anXY stage relative to a object stage, third program instructions tocapture a plurality of images with pre-defined points of view of theobject, wherein the first, second and third program instructions arestored on the computer readable storage medium.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following drawings and description.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and/or scientific terms usedherein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although methods andmaterials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used inthe practice or testing of embodiments of the invention, exemplarymethods and/or materials are described below. In case of conflict, thepatent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition,the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are notintended to be necessarily limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the invention are herein described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specificreference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that theparticulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrativediscussion of embodiments of the invention. In this regard, thedescription taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled inthe art how embodiments of the invention may be practiced.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a computerized imaging system forcreating a 3D imaging dataset of an object, according to someembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the main parts of the computerizedimaging system for creating a 3D imaging dataset of an object, accordingto some embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-3C are schematic illustrations of the system object stage,according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the elongated elevation arm imagesensor, lens and mirror, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the elongated elevation arm andthe elevation mechanism, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6A is a schematic illustration of the image sensor and lens,according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6B is a schematic illustration of the lens micro-motors, accordingto some embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A-7C are schematic illustrations of the elevation mechanism andthe step engine, according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a computerized method for creating a 3D imagingdataset of an object, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the step of continuously aligning theobject center of mass with the object stage rotation axis illustrated inFIG. 8, according to some embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the step of capturing a plurality ofimages with pre-defined points of view of the object illustrated in FIG.8, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

According to embodiments of the present invention, a computerizedimaging system for creating a 3D imaging dataset of an object isprovided. The computerized imaging system creates a multi angle fullyrotatable 3D image of an object automatically. The computerized imagingsystem includes an object stage and an elongated elevation armpositioned alongside the stage and having an image sensor, at least onelens and a mirror mounted thereon.

The object stage includes a top plate where the object may bepositioned. The top plate may be displaced in the X and Y directions ina plane parallel to the system base plate by an XY stage mounted on arotary shaft. The rotary shaft is configured to rotate 360 degrees with0.1 degree accuracy. The XY stage displacements are used to continuouslyalign the calculated object center of mass with the rotary shaft axis.The center of mass of the object may be calculated by image processingof an initial set of 2D images of the object.

The elongated elevation arm positioned alongside the object stage suchthat the optical axis of the image sensor is parallel to the elongatedelevation arm elevation axis. The elongated elevation arm may beelevated in pre-defined elevation angle step, ΔΦ. The elongatedelevation arm mirror is used to reflect the object image along theoptical axis to the image sensor. The mirror may be slanted in about 45degrees in relation to the optical axis; however, other mirror anglesmay be used and are in the scope of the present application.

According to embodiments of the present invention, patterns of systemconfiguration parameters for creating 3D imaging datasets appropriate toeach object type are stored in a storage medium. The pattern of systemconfiguration parameters may include the object type, lighting fixturesconfiguration, XY stage position, rotation angle step Δθ, elevationangle step ΔΦ, aperture selection, focus selection, shutter selectionand combinations thereof.

The computerized imaging system captures a plurality of images of theobject in a plurality of rotation and elevation angles of the objectstage and elongated elevation arm and reconstructs a fully rotatable 3Dimage of the object. The fully rotatable 3D image may be displayedand/or transmitted using wired or wireless communication network tousers.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, itis to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and the arrangement of thecomponents and/or methods set forth in the following description and/orillustrated in the drawings and/or the Examples. The invention iscapable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out invarious ways.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which is a schematic illustration of acomputerized imaging system 100 for creating a 3D imaging dataset of anobject, according to some embodiments of the present invention.Computerized imaging system 100 is a compact system having typically 30centimeter (cm) width 1, 40 cm length 2 and 20 cm height 3. Computerizedimaging system 100 box cover 110 is a transparent cover made typicallyfrom transparent plastic or other polymeric materials and used to coverobject stage 130 where an object 4 may be positioned. Object 4 may be apolished diamond or gemstone; however, other objects may be imaged bythe present invention computerized imaging system 100. Object stage 130is configured to be rotated in the base plate plane, XY plane,illustrated in FIG. 1 with a pre-defined angle step Δθ (not shown in thefigure) with 0.1 degrees accuracy. The object stage may bear up to a 1kilogram object.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the main parts of the computerizedimaging system for creating a 3D imaging dataset of an object, accordingto some embodiments of the present invention. Computerized imagingsystem 100 includes an elongated movable arm 101 positioned alongsideobject stage 130. Elongated movable arm 101 supports an image sensor102, one or more lens(es) 104, a mirror base 106 mounted on two poles108 held on their two sides by bevels 111 and 112. Elongated elevationarm 101 may be elevated in pre-defined elevation angle step, ΔΦ (notshown in the figure) around the elongated arm pivot 113 and 114. Theimage sensor 102 and lens 104 optical axis is parallel to the elongatedelevation arm poles 108 (as shown in FIG. 5, 502) and parallel to theelongated elevation arm elevation axis. Due to the optical axis beingdirected in parallel to elongated elevation arm 101, the presentinvention computerized imaging system design 100 is compact havingtypically 30 cm width, 40 cm length and 20 cm height.

Walls 116, 118 and 120 support the elongated elevation arm 101 elevationmechanism. Step motor 140 is configured to elevate elongated elevationarm 101 by a pre-defined elevation step. The combined rotation of objectstage 130 and elongated elevation arm 101 allows the present inventioncomputerized imaging system 100 to reconstruct a 3D fully rotatableimage of object 4 with high accuracy and quality from its captured multiangle 2D images.

FIG. 3A is a schematic illustration of the system object stage,according to some embodiments of the present invention. Object stage 130is mounted on the system base plate 340. FIG. 3B is an exploded view ofobject stage 130. Object stage 130 includes top plate 310, XY stage 315,object stage base 320 and shaft 325 that allows a 360 degrees rotationaround the shaft axis 325, shown in FIG. 3C, with a pre-defined anglestep Δθ.

XY stage 315 allows continuously aligning object 4 center of mass withthe shaft axis 325. The XY stage is used to displace the object stageplate 310 in the X and Y directions parallel to the base plate plane 340with 10 nanometers (nm) accuracy and with total range of 30 millimetersin the X and Y directions.

Computerized imaging system 100 includes a control unit configured tooperate elongated elevation arm 101, object stage 130, XY stage 315,image sensor 102 and lens 104. The control unit is further configured toreconstruct a fully rotatable 3D image of object 4 from its capturedplurality of 2D images. The control unit may include at least oneprocessor that may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC),a micro-controller, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) andcombinations thereof.

Computerized imaging system 100 may include an array of lightingfixtures (not shown) for illuminating object 4. The lighting fixturesmay be high CRI (>95) light emitting diodes (LED) and/or compactfluorescent light (CFL) based light sources, with typically 10 Watts and5500 Calvin degrees. As used herein, the term CRI means color renderingindex.

The lighting fixtures are positioned typically 40 mm from object 4providing both direct and ambient lighting. Direct lighting may be usedinitially in order to capture an initial set of images of object 4 inorder to calculate the object center of mass. The ambient lighting maybe used to provide lighting during capturing the set of images of theobject.

Computerized imaging system 100 is configured to continuously displacethe XY stage 315 in order to align the calculated center of mass ofobject 4 with the shaft axis 325 and to adjust the lens focus andaperture on object 4 using lens micro-motors (shown in FIG. 6B).

Optionally, computerized imaging system 100 may include a display usedto present the captured 2D images and the fully rotatable 3D image ofobject 4. Computerized imaging system 100 may further include a wired orwireless internet connection to a server used to transmit the fullyrotatable 3D image of object 4 to users. Object 4 may be for example apolished diamond, gemstone, insect, archeological finding or othersmall-sized product.

Computerized imaging system 100 image sensor and lens may be configuredto focus automatically on the polished diamond table facet according toits light reflection initially and/or continuously using the lens micromotors shown further below in FIG. 6B.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the elongated elevation arm andthe elevation mechanism, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention. Elongated elevation arm 101 includes camera base 404 andmirror base 106 both having two apertures threaded by the elongatedelevation arm poles 108. Camera base 404 is used to mount image sensor102. Optical axis 406 is directed in parallel to the elongated elevationarm 101. Object 4 image 408 is reflected by a mirror attached to mirrorbase 106 along optical axis 406 through lens 104 to image sensor 102.Elongated elevation arm 101 mirror may be a 45 degree mirror with highquality 95% transmission in the visual range between 380-700 nmwavelengths. Other mirrors types and mirror angles may be used and arein the scope of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematicillustration of the elongated elevation arm image sensor, lens andmirror base, according to some embodiments of the present invention.Elongated elevation arm 101 is connected to side walls 112 and 113 bybevels 111 and 112. End bevel 502 is used to affirm elongated elevationarm 101 poles 108 to bevel 112. Piston 504 distal end 505 is connectedto the system base plate 340 and its proximal end is connected to thesecond bevel 506. Step motor 130 is used to elevate elongated elevationarm 101 around elevation axis 113 and 114 with a pre-defined elevationangle ΔΦ.

FIG. 6A is a schematic illustration of the image sensor and lens,according to some embodiments of the present invention. Image sensor 102may be a color camera.

The color camera may be a 1.6 micron, 10 MegaPixels (MP) CCD or CMOSsensor and may include an electronic or mechanical shutter. The typicaldistance of the camera and lens from the mirror base and the object maybe 20 mm. Lens 106 may be 50 mm long lens with 200 lines per mmresolution and less than 0.02% distortion. The lens focus/aperture micromotor may have a 1:1000 transmission ratio. As used herein, the term CCDmeans a charge-coupled device and the term CMOS means complementarymetal-oxide-semiconductor.

FIG. 6B is a schematic illustration of the lens micro-motors, accordingto some embodiments of the present invention. Micro-motors 610 and 620are used to control lens 104 focus 615 and aperture 625. Thecomputerized imaging system 100 control system is used to automaticallyand continuously adjust the image sensor lens 104 focus 625 and aperture615 in correlation with displacing the XY stage and object stage platesuch that object 4 center of mass is positioned at the lens focal point.

FIGS. 7A-7C are schematic illustrations of the elevation mechanism andthe step engine, according to some embodiments of the present invention.Step engine 140 is used to elevate elongated elevation arm 101 bypre-defined elevation angle ΔΦ. FIG. 7B illustrates the elevationmechanism without side walls 116 and 118.

Gear wheel 702 and shaft 704 are part of elevation axis 113 and 114shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7C illustrates step motor 140.

Computerized imaging system 100 may include a storage medium that may beused to store patterns of system configuration parameters appropriatefor creating 3D imaging datasets according to the object type. Thepattern of system configuration parameters may include the object type,lighting configuration, XY stage position, rotation angle step Δθ,elevation angle step ΔΦ, aperture selection, focus selection, shutterselection and combinations thereof.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a computerized method 800 for creating a 3Dimaging dataset of an object, according to some embodiments of thepresent invention. Method 800 includes providing a computerized imagingsystem that includes an object stage, XY stage and an elongatedelevation arm having an image sensor, at least one lens and a mirrormounted thereon, wherein the image sensor optical axis is parallel tothe elongated elevation arm elevation axis 810.

Method 800 includes uploading a pattern of system configurationparameters stored in a storage medium according to the object type 820,continuously aligning the object center of mass with the rotary stageaxis by displacing an XY stage relative to the object stage 830 andcapturing a plurality of images with pre-defined points of view of theobject 840.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the step 830 of continuously aligningthe object center of mass with the object stage shaft axis illustratedin FIG. 8, according to some embodiments of the present invention.Method step 830 includes capturing an initial set of images of theobject 831, calculating the object center of mass using the first set ofimages 833, continuously displacing the XY stage position in order tomaintain the object center of mass and the object stage shaft axisalignment 835, and adjusting the lens focus and aperture on the objectusing lens micro-motors 837.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating step 840 of capturing a plurality ofimages with pre-defined points of view of the object illustrated in FIG.8, according to some embodiments of the present invention. Method step840 includes rotating the object stage plate in the base plane with apre-defined angle step Δθ in order to capture a plurality of images withpre-defined points of view of the object 841 and elevating an elongatedelevation arm with a pre-defined elevation angle step ΔΦ after each fullrotation in the base plane is completed and repeating the rotating andcapturing steps in each elevation angle 843.

Method 800 includes further reconstructing a 3D fully rotatable image ofobject 4 from its captured multiple angle 2D images. Method 800 mayinclude further transmitting the fully rotatable image of object 4 tousers using a wired or wireless communication network.

Method 800 may include reconstructing and transmitting the mirroredimage of object 4. Optionally, method 800 may include transforming themirrored object image back to the original object orientation bysoftware. Alternatively, a hardware optical component, such asadditional lens, may be used to transform the mirrored image of object 4back to the original object orientation.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a computer programproduct for creating a 3D imaging dataset of an object is disclosed. Thecomputer program product includes a computer readable storage mediumthat includes further program instructions to upload a pattern of systemconfiguration parameters stored in a storage medium, to continuouslyalign the object center of mass with the object stage shaft axis bydisplacing the XY stage relative to the object stage plate and tocapture a plurality of images with pre-defined points of view of theobject. The program instructions may be stored on the computer readablestorage medium.

The program instructions to continuously align the object center of masswith the object stage shaft axis by displacing the XY stage may includeprogram instructions to capture an initial set of images of the object,calculate the object center of mass using the first set of images, tocontinuously displace the XY stage position in order to maintain theobject center of mass and the shaft axis alignment and to adjust thelens focus and aperture on the object using lens micro-motors.

The program instructions to capture a plurality of images withpre-defined points of view of the object may include programinstructions to rotate the object stage plate with a pre-programmedangle step Δθ in order to capture a plurality of images with differentpoints of view of the object and to elevate the elongated elevation armin a plurality of elevation angles with a pre-programmed elevation anglestep ΔΦ after each full rotation of the object stage plate is completedand repeating the rotating and the capturing a plurality of images ofthe object in each the elevation angle.

The computer readable storage medium may include program instructions toreconstruct a fully rotatable 3D image of the object from the pluralityof captured 2D images, to display the plurality of captured images andthe reconstructed 3D fully rotatable image of the object on a displayand to transmit the 3D fully rotatable image of the object to usersusing wired or wireless communication networks.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

As used herein the term “about” refers to ±10%.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, “including”, “having”and their conjugates mean “including but not limited to”. This termencompasses the terms “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of”.

As used herein, the singular form “a”, “an” and “the” include pluralreferences unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example,the term “a compound” or “at least one compound” may include a pluralityof compounds, including mixtures thereof.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance or illustration”. Any embodiment described as “exemplary” isnot necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otherembodiments and/or to exclude the incorporation of features from otherembodiments.

The word “optionally” is used herein to mean “is provided in someembodiments and not provided in other embodiments”. Any particularembodiment of the invention may include a plurality of “optional”features unless such features conflict.

Throughout this application, various embodiments of this invention maybe presented in a range format. It should be understood that thedescription in range format is merely for convenience and brevity andshould not be construed as an inflexible limitation on the scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the description of a range should be consideredto have specifically disclosed all the possible subranges as well asindividual numerical values within that range. For example, descriptionof a range such as from 1 to 6 should be considered to have specificallydisclosed subranges such as from 1 to 3, from 1 to 4, from 1 to 5, from2 to 4, from 2 to 6, from 3 to 6 etc., as well as individual numberswithin that range, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This appliesregardless of the breadth of the range.

Whenever a numerical range is indicated herein, it is meant to includeany cited numeral (fractional or integral) within the indicated range.The phrases “ranging/ranges between” a first indicate number and asecond indicate number and “ranging/ranges from” a first indicate number“to” a second indicate number are used herein interchangeably and aremeant to include the first and second indicated numbers and all thefractional and integral numerals therebetween.

It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, forclarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also beprovided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in thecontext of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or inany suitable subcombination or as suitable in any other describedembodiment of the invention. Certain features described in the contextof various embodiments are not to be considered essential features ofthose embodiments, unless the embodiment is inoperative without thoseelements.

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specificembodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modificationsand variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scopeof the appended claims.

All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in thisspecification are herein incorporated in their entirety by referenceinto the specification, to the same extent as if each individualpublication, patent or patent application was specifically andindividually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. Inaddition, citation or identification of any reference in thisapplication shall not be construed as an admission that such referenceis available as prior art to the present invention. To the extent thatsection headings are used, they should not be construed as necessarilylimiting.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computerized imaging system for creating a 3Dimaging dataset of an object, the system comprising: an object stagemounted on a system base plate, said object stage is configured torotate 360 degrees around its axis perpendicular to said base plateplane; and an elongated elevation arm positioned alongside said objectstage, wherein said elongated elevation arm having an image sensor, atleast one lens, and a mirror mounted thereon, and wherein the opticalaxis of said image sensor is parallel to said elongated elevation armelevation axis; wherein said image sensor is used to capture a pluralityof images of said object positioned on said object stage in a pluralityof rotation and elevation angles of said object stage and elongatedelevation arm.
 2. The computerized imaging system of claim 1, whereinsaid object stage comprising further an object stage plate, an XY stageand a shaft, wherein said object stage plate is used to support saidobject, and wherein said XY stage is configured to displace said objectstage plate in parallel to the plane of said system base plate.
 3. Thecomputerized imaging system of claim 2, wherein said XY stagedisplacements are used to align the object center of mass with the shaftaxis.
 4. The computerized imaging system of claim 3, wherein said XYstage is used to displace said object stage plate by 0 to 30 millimetersin each direction in parallel to the base plate plane with at least 10nanometers accuracy.
 5. The computerized imaging system of claim 1,wherein said mirror mounted on said elongated elevation arm and used toreflect said object images to said image sensor is a 45 degree mirror.6. The computerized imaging system of claim 1, further comprising anarray of lighting fixtures for illuminating said object.
 7. Thecomputerized imaging system of claim 1, further comprising micro motorsfor adjusting said lens aperture and focus.
 8. The computerized imagingsystem of claim 1, further comprising a control unit configured tooperate said elongated elevation arm, said rotary stage, said XY stage,said lighting fixtures, said image sensor and said lens micro-motors. 9.The computerized imaging system of claim 8, wherein said control unit isfurther configured to reconstruct a fully rotatable 3D image of saidobject from said captured plurality of 2D images.
 10. The computerizedimaging system of claim 9, further comprising a display used to presentthe reconstructed fully rotatable 3D image of said object.
 11. Thecomputerized imaging system of claim 1, further comprising a storagemedium used to store system parameter configurations used for creating3D imaging datasets of a plurality of object types.
 12. The computerizedimaging system of claim 11, wherein said stored patterns of systemparameters used for creating 3D imaging datasets of a plurality ofobject types are selected from the group consisting of: object type,lighting fixtures configuration, XY stage position, rotation angle stepΔθ, elevation angle step ΔΦ, aperture selection, focus selection,shutter selection and combinations thereof.
 13. The computerized imagingsystem of claim 12, wherein said control unit is further configured toupload a pattern of system configuration parameters stored in saidstorage medium and to create a 3D imaging dataset of said objectaccording to said uploaded pattern of system configuration parameters.14. The computerized imaging system of claim 8, wherein said controlunit comprising at least one processor selected from the groupconsisting of: ASICs, micro-controllers, FPGAs and combinations thereof.15. The computerized imaging system of claim 9, further comprising awired or wireless internet connection to a server used to transmit saidfully rotatable 3D image of said object to users.
 16. The computerizedimaging system of claim 1, wherein said object is selected from thegroup consisting of: polished diamonds, gemstones, insects,archeological findings and small-sized products.
 17. The computerizedimaging system of claim 16, wherein said system image sensor and lensare configured to focus automatically on said polished diamond tablefacet according to said polished diamond table facet light reflection.18. A computerized method for creating a 3D imaging dataset of anobject, the method comprising: providing a computerized imaging system;uploading a pattern of system configuration parameters stored in astorage medium according to the object type; continuously aligning theobject center of mass with the object stage shaft axis; and capturing aplurality of images with pre-defined points of view of said object. 19.A computerized method of claim 18, wherein said continuously aligningsaid object center of mass with said object stage axis and capturingsaid plurality of images with pre-defined points of view of said objectfurther comprising: capturing an initial set of images of said object;calculating the object center of mass using the first set of images;continuously displacing the XY stage position in order to maintain saidobject center of mass and said object stage shaft axis aligned;adjusting the lens focus and aperture on said object using lensmicro-motors; rotating said object stage with a pre-programmed anglestep Δθ in order to capture a plurality of images with different pointsof view of said object; and elevating said elongated elevation arm in aplurality of elevation angles with a pre-programmed elevation angle stepΔΦ to after each full rotation of said object stage is completed andrepeating said rotating and said capturing said plurality of images ofsaid object in each said elevation angle.
 20. The computerized method ofclaim 18, further comprising reconstructing a 3D fully rotatable imageof said object from said plurality of captured images.